Cantilevers with integrated actuators for probe microscopy

ABSTRACT

An atomic force microscopy sensor includes a substrate, a cantilever beam and an electrostatic actuator. The cantilever beam has a proximal end and an opposite distal end. The proximal end is in a fixed relationship with the substrate and the cantilever beam is configured so that the distal end is in a moveable relationship with respect to the substrate. The electrostatic actuator includes a first electrode that is coupled to the cantilever beam adjacent to the proximal end and a spaced apart second electrode that is in a fixed relationship with the substrate. When an electrical potential is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode, the first electrode is drawn to the second electrode, thereby causing the distal end of the cantilever beam to move.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/837,803, filed Aug. 14, 2006, the entirety ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

This application is related to the following pending U.S. patentapplications and incorporates them herein by reference: Ser. No.11/405,051, filed on Apr. 17, 2006; Ser. No. 11/297,097, filed on Dec.8, 2005 (Publ. No. US-2006-0227845-A1); Ser. No. 11/260,238, filed onOct. 28, 2005 (Publ. No. US-2007-0103697-A1); Ser. No. 11/476,625 (Publ.No. US-2007-0012094-A1), filed on Jun. 29, 2006; Ser. No. 11/398,650,filed on Apr. 6, 2006 (Publ. No. US-2006-0283338-A1); Ser. No.11/548,005, filed on Oct. 10, 2006; Ser. No. 11/548,531, filed on Oct.11, 2006 (Publ. No. US-2007-0107502-A1); Ser. No. 11/552,274, filed onOct. 24, 2006 (Publ. No. US-2007-0089496-A1); and Ser. No. 11/777,518,filed on Jul. 13, 2007.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST

This invention was made with support from the U.S. government undergrant number ECS 0348582, awarded by National Science Foundation. Thegovernment may have certain rights in the invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to atomic force microscopy and, morespecifically, to a cantilever actuation system employed in atomic forcemicroscopy.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In atomic force microscopy, a probe at the end of a cantilever beam isused to image the surface properties of a sample with near-atomicprecision. Typically, an atomic force microscope (AFM) uses a mechanicalactuator to move a sample into a position in which it interacts with thetip of a cantilever-mounted probe. The cantilever beam is then caused tomove up and down, usually according to its resonant frequency, and thetip of the probe interacts with the sample. Variations in the movementof the cantilever beam are detected by measuring movement of a lightbeam reflected off of the cantilever into a detector. The sample is thenmoved by the actuator as the surface of the sample is being imaged.Typical actuators tend to be relatively slow, relative to the resonantfrequency of the cantilever.

Therefore, there is a need for an integrated cantilever actuator thatinteracts directly with a cantilever beam.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present inventionwhich, in one aspect, is an atomic force microscopy sensor that includesa substrate, a cantilever beam and an electrostatic actuator. Thecantilever beam has a proximal end and an opposite distal end. Theproximal end is in a fixed relationship with the substrate and thecantilever beam is configured so that the distal end is in a moveablerelationship with respect to the substrate. The electrostatic actuatorincludes a first electrode that is coupled to the cantilever beamadjacent to the proximal end and a spaced apart second electrode that isin a fixed relationship with the substrate. When an electrical potentialis applied between the first electrode and the second electrode, thefirst electrode is drawn to the second electrode, thereby causing thedistal end of the cantilever beam to move.

In another aspect, the invention is an atomic force microscopy sensorthat includes a substrate, a cantilever beam and a piezoelectricactuator. The cantilever beam has a proximal end and an opposite distalend. The proximal end is in a fixed relationship with the substrate andthe cantilever beam is configured so that the distal end is in amoveable relationship with respect to the substrate. The piezoelectricactuator includes a piezoelectric member affixed to the cantilever beamadjacent to the proximal end. When an electrical potential is applied tothe piezoelectric member, the piezoelectric member will deform along apredetermined dimension, thereby causing the cantilever beam to bend.

These and other aspects of the invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunctionwith the following drawings. As would be obvious to one skilled in theart, many variations and modifications of the invention may be effectedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of thedisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side schematic view of one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side schematic view of a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a side schematic view of a third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a side schematic view of a fourth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a side schematic view of a fifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6A is a side schematic view of a sixth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6B is a side schematic view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6A inwhich the cantilever is in an actuated state.

FIG. 6C is a side schematic view of an embodiment in which a rigid beamactuator is configured to retract a cantilever beam.

FIG. 7A is a side schematic view of a seventh embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 7B is a side schematic view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7A inwhich the cantilever beam is in a retracted state.

FIG. 8 is a side schematic view of an eighth embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 9A is a bottom schematic view of an embodiment employing a V-shapedcantilever.

FIG. 9B is a side schematic view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9A.

FIG. 10 is a side schematic view of an embodiment employing apiezoelectric actuator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of the invention is now described in detail.Referring to the drawings, like numbers indicate like parts throughoutthe views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims,the following terms take the meanings explicitly associated herein,unless the context clearly dictates otherwise: the meaning of “a,” “an,”and “the” includes plural reference, the meaning of “in” includes “in”and “on.”

As will be described more fully below, the present invention includescantilever beam atomic force microscopy structures that employintegrated actuators. Such actuators may include electrostatic andpiezoelectric actuators. Integrated actuators enable imaging with aspeed that is limited by the integrated actuator rather than an externalactuator. Integrated detector systems may also be employed.

As shown in FIG. 1, one embodiment of the invention includes an atomicforce microscopy sensor 100, which includes a substrate 110 that can beaffixed to an attachment surface 112. A micromachined cantilever beam120, having a proximal end 126 and an opposite distal end 128, is spacedapart from the substrate 110. The proximal end 126 is in a fixedrelationship with the substrate 110 through a spacer 124 and a probe 122is affixed to the distal end 128. The cantilever beam 120 is configuredso that the distal end 128 is in a moveable relationship with respect tothe substrate 110. An electrostatic actuator 129 controls displacementof the distal end 128 of the cantilever beam 120. The electrostaticactuator 129 includes a first electrode 132 that is coupled to thecantilever beam 120 adjacent to the proximal end 126 and a spaced apartsecond electrode 130 that is affixed to the substrate 110. When anelectrical potential is applied between the first electrode 132 and thesecond electrode 130, the first electrode 132 is drawn to the secondelectrode 130, thereby causing the distal end 128 of the cantilever beam120 to move upwardly. If an electrode is applied to a conductivesubstrate or cantilever, an insulating layer should be deposited beforethe deposition of the electrode.

The cantilever beam 120 can be directly surface micromachined on thesubstrate 110 (which can be formed from a material such as a siliconwafer), or it can be bonded to the substrate 110. The electrodes 130 and132 can be formed by deposition and patterning of a thin metal film. Thespace between the cantilever beam 120 and the substrate 110 can beadjusted to have adequate probe displacement range for a give AFMapplication. Typically, the gap would be between 0.1 μm and 10 μm. Thedisplacement of the probe 122 can be measured in one of several ways,including the beam bounce method in which a light beam 140 is bouncedoff of the cantilever beam and a detector (not shown) determines theamount of displacement based on the angle of the reflected beam.

As shown in FIG. 2, one embodiment includes a capacitive sensing element210 that provides feedback regarding the displacement of the position ofthe cantilever beam 120. The capacitive sensing element 210 includes athird electrode 214 that is coupled to the cantilever beam 120 and afourth electrode 212 that is affixed to the substrate 212 that forms acapacitor. The space between the third electrode 214 and the fourthelectrode 212 acts as a dielectric, which varies in thickness as thedistance between the cantilever beam 120 and the substrate 110 changes.This causes the capacitance of the capacitive sensing element 210 to berepresentative of the distance between the third electrode 214 and thefourth electrode 212, which is indicative of the displacement of thedistal end 128 of the cantilever beam 120.

As shown in FIG. 3, a sealing membrane 310 (such as a PECVD depositednitride or oxide layer, or a polymer film, which can be deposited andpatterned) may be placed between the cantilever beam 120 the substrate110 to define a chamber 312 therebetween. The chamber 312 is filled witha non-conductive gas (e.g., air) and the sealing membrane 310 preventsliquids from entering the chamber 312. This embodiment may be placed ina vessel 300 and used to measure features of a sample 304 in aconductive or dielectric liquid 302. A passage 314 may be drilled intothe chamber 312. The passage 314 allows application of a gas to thechamber 312 to create a positive pressure in the chamber 312 relative toa liquid 302 (or other fluid) into which the sensor is placed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the substrate 110 may be made of a transparentmaterial. This allows placement of a diffraction grating 410 on thesubstrate 110. A reflective surface 412 is then disposed on thecantilever beam 412 in a location so that when a beam 402 ofelectromagnetic radiation is directed to the reflective surface 412, areflected beam 404 interacts with the diffraction grating 410 so as toform a diffraction pattern that is indicative of a displacement betweenthe cantilever beam 120 and the substrate 110.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the second electrode 510 may bepatterned to form a diffraction grating and the reflective surface 512may also act as the first electrode, thereby making a combined actuatorand displacement sensor.

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, in one embodiment, the cantilever beam 120is affixed directly to an attachment surface 112 and a frame 610 dependsfrom a portion of the cantilever beam 120. The frame 610 includes alongitudinal structure 612 that is affixed to the cantilever beam 120and rigid beam 614 that extends laterally from the longitudinalstructure 612. The rigid beam 614 is spaced apart from the cantileverbeam 120 and defines a gap therebetween. A first electrode 620 is placedon the cantilever beam 120 and a second electrode 622 is disposed on therigid beam 614. When no voltage is applied to first electrode 620 andthe second electrode 622, the cantilever beam 120 is not displaced.However, when a voltage is applied to first electrode 620 and the secondelectrode 622, the cantilever beam 120 is displaced in a downwarddirection.

As shown in FIG. 6C, the frame 650 may be applied the side of thecantilever beam 120 opposite of the probe 122 to allow the cantileverbeam 120 to be pulled upwardly when a voltage is applied between thefirst electrode 654 and the second electrode 652. This embodiment alsofacilitates optical interferometric displacement detection if a portionof the cantilever beam 120 is transparent and the first electrode 654 ispatterned as a diffraction grating.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, a frame 710 can be affixed to thecantilever beam 120 so that attraction between the first electrode 720and the second electrode 722 causes the cantilever beam 120 to deflectaway from the frame 710.

As shown in FIG. 8, the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B may be usedwith an optical displacement sensor 810 (such as a FIRAT-typemembrane-mounted probe) mounted on the distal end of the cantilever beam120. A probe 122 is mounted on the membrane-type optical displacementsensor 810 and the sensor 810 includes a reflective surface 814 and adiffraction grating 812 mounted on a membrane 816 that is spaced apartfrom the distal end of the cantilever beam 120. The diffraction grating812 allows sensing of probe displacement using a reflected optical beam802.

As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the cantilever beam can be a V-shapedstructure 920 that includes a first leg 922 and a spaced apart secondleg 924. This embodiment may be used in torsion modes for lateral forceimaging. Both legs are coupled to the substrate 910. The electrostaticactuator comprises a first member 932 that is coupled to the first leg922 and a second member 934 that is coupled to the second leg 924. Thefirst member 932 can drive movement of the first leg 922 independentlyfrom movement of the second leg 924. The second member 934 can drivemovement of the second leg 924 independently from movement of the firstleg 922. Thus, by applying out-of-phase voltages to the actuator members932 and 934, the actuator can cause the probe 122 to move laterally aswell as up-and-down. This generates both in-plane motion andout-of-plane motion of the probe 122.

As shown in FIG. 10, one embodiment uses a piezoelectric actuator thatincludes a piezoelectric member 1020 affixed to the cantilever beam 120adjacent to the proximal end 126. When an electrical potential isapplied to the piezoelectric member 1020, the piezoelectric member 1020will deform along a predetermined dimension, thereby causing thecantilever beam to bend. Also, all of the displacement detectionmechanisms disclosed above (e.g., capacitive, optical, etc.) may be usedwith the embodiment, and it may be used with a V-shaped cantilever beam.

The piezoelectric member 1020 can be, for example, a film of a materialsuch as ZnO or AlN, or one of many other thin film piezoelectricmaterials. Typically the probe 122 should be longer than the thicknessof the piezoelectric member 1020.

The above described embodiments, while including the preferredembodiment and the best mode of the invention known to the inventor atthe time of filing, are given as illustrative examples only. It will bereadily appreciated that many deviations may be made from the specificembodiments disclosed in this specification without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of theinvention is to be determined by the claims below rather than beinglimited to the specifically described embodiments above.

1. An atomic force microscopy sensor, comprising: a. a substrate; b. acantilever beam having a proximal end and an opposite distal end, theproximal end in a fixed relationship with the substrate and thecantilever beam is configured so that the distal end is in a moveablerelationship with respect to the substrate; and c. an electrostaticactuator that includes a first electrode that is coupled to thecantilever beam adjacent to the proximal end and a spaced apart secondelectrode that is in a fixed relationship with the substrate, so thatwhen an electrical potential is applied between the first electrode andthe second electrode, the first electrode is drawn to the secondelectrode, thereby causing the distal end of the cantilever beam tomove.
 2. The atomic force microscopy sensor of claim 1, wherein a probeextends from the distal end of the cantilever beam.
 3. The atomic forcemicroscopy sensor of claim 2, wherein the second electrode is affixed tothe substrate.
 4. The atomic force microscopy sensor of claim 3, whereina portion of the substrate is transparent and further comprising: a. adiffraction grating disposed on the substrate; and b. a reflectivesurface disposed on the cantilever beam in a location so that when abeam of electromagnetic radiation is directed to the reflective surface,a reflected beam interacts with the diffraction grating so as to form adiffraction pattern that is indicative of a displacement between thecantilever beam and the substrate.
 5. The atomic force microscopy sensorof claim 4, wherein the diffraction grating is formed by the firstelectrode and the reflective surface is formed by the second electrode.6. The atomic force microscopy sensor of claim 3, further comprising: a.a third electrode that is coupled to the cantilever beam and spacedapart from the first electrode; and b. a fourth electrode that is in afixed relationship to the substrate and spaced apart from the thirdelectrode, the third electrode and the fourth electrode disposed so asto form a capacitor so that a displacement between the third electrodeand the fourth electrode results in a corresponding capacitance that isindicative of a displacement of the distal end of the cantilever beam.7. The atomic force microscopy sensor of claim 3, further comprising asealing membrane disposed between a portion of the cantilever beam and aportion of the substrate so as to define a chamber that encloses thefirst electrode and the second electrode, the chamber filled with anon-conductive gas, the sealing membrane configured to prevent liquidsfrom entering the chamber.
 8. The atomic force microscopy sensor ofclaim 7, wherein the substrate defines a passage that opens into thechamber that is configured to allow application of a gas to the chamberso as to create a positive pressure in the chamber relative to a fluidinto which the sensor is placed.
 9. The atomic force microscopy sensorof claim 2, further comprising a frame depending from a portion of thecantilever beam adjacent to the proximal end, the frame including: a. alongitudinal structure affixed to the cantilever beam; and b. rigidbeam, extending laterally from the longitudinal structure so as to bespaced apart from the cantilever beam and to define a gap therebetween,upon which the second electrode is disposed.
 10. The atomic forcemicroscopy sensor of claim 9, wherein a portion of the cantilever beamis transparent and further comprising: a. a diffraction grating disposedon the portion of the cantilever beam; and b. a reflective surfacedisposed on the rigid beam in a location so that when a beam ofelectromagnetic radiation is directed to the reflective surface, areflected beam interacts with the diffraction grating so as to form adiffraction pattern that is indicative of a displacement between thecantilever beam and the rigid beam.
 11. The atomic force microscopysensor of claim 10, wherein the diffraction grating is formed by thefirst electrode and the reflective surface is formed by the secondelectrode.
 12. The atomic force microscopy sensor of claim 10, furthercomprising: a. a third electrode that is coupled to the cantilever beamand spaced apart from the first electrode; and b. a fourth electrodethat is in a fixed relationship to the rigid beam and spaced apart fromthe third electrode, the third electrode and the fourth electrodedisposed so as to form a capacitor so that a displacement between thethird electrode and the fourth electrode results in a correspondingcapacitance that is indicative of a displacement of the distal end ofthe cantilever beam.
 13. The atomic force microscopy sensor of claim 2,wherein the cantilever beam comprises a V-shaped structure that includesa first leg and a spaced apart second leg, both legs coupled to thesubstrate, and wherein the electrostatic actuator comprises a firstmember that is coupled to the first leg and a second member that iscoupled to the second leg, the first member configured to drive movementof the first leg and the second member configured to drive movement ofthe second leg.
 14. The atomic force microscopy sensor of claim 2,wherein the probe is mounted on a membrane spaced apart from the distalend of the cantilever beam.
 15. An atomic force microscopy sensor,comprising: a. a substrate; b. a cantilever beam having a proximal endand an opposite distal end, the proximal end in a fixed relationshipwith the substrate and the cantilever beam is configured so that thedistal end is in a moveable relationship with respect to the substrate;and c. a piezoelectric actuator that includes a piezoelectric memberaffixed to the cantilever beam adjacent to the proximal end so that whenan electrical potential is applied to the piezoelectric member, thepiezoelectric member will deform along a predetermined dimension,thereby causing the cantilever beam to bend.
 16. The atomic forcemicroscopy sensor of claim 15, wherein a probe extends from the distalend of the cantilever beam.
 17. The atomic force microscopy sensor ofclaim 15, wherein a portion of the substrate is transparent and furthercomprising: a. a diffraction grating disposed on the substrate; and b. areflective surface disposed on the cantilever beam in a location so thatwhen a beam of electromagnetic radiation is directed to the reflectivesurface, a reflected beam interacts with the diffraction grating so asto form a diffraction pattern that is indicative of a displacementbetween the cantilever beam and the substrate.
 18. The atomic forcemicroscopy sensor of claim 17, wherein the diffraction grating is formedby the first electrode and the reflective surface is formed by thesecond electrode.
 19. The atomic force microscopy sensor of claim 17,further comprising: a. a third electrode that is coupled to thecantilever beam and spaced apart from the first electrode; and b. afourth electrode that is in a fixed relationship to the substrate andspaced apart from the third electrode, the third electrode and thefourth electrode disposed so as to form a capacitor so that adisplacement between the third electrode and the fourth electroderesults in a corresponding capacitance that is indicative of adisplacement of the distal end of the cantilever beam.